UPC scannable marking composition and applications thereof

ABSTRACT

A marking composition is provided which comprises a mixture of colored pigment, preferably red, and white pigment in amounts sufficient to provide an effective reflectance in the visible and infrared regions of from about 600 to about 1000 nm, e.g., a reflectance of at least 31.6 percent. The composition can therefore be suitable for the imprinting of indicia in a negative mode for reading by a code indicia scanning apparatus, e.g., such as those used in processing a Universal Product Code symbol. The present invention is particularly applicable to the marking of red product code symbols on a substrate which provides a background of low reflectance.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 578,505, filedFeb. 9, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,027, which in turn is a divisionof application Ser. No. 335,400, filed Dec. 29, 1981, now U.S. Pat. No.4,431,693.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a marking composition for use inconjunction with code indicia scanning apparatus, as well as the methodsof implementing same and the substrates and products obtained thereby.More particularly, the present invention relates to a red markingcomposition comprising a mixture of white and red pigments and its usein marking substrates with processable Universal Product Code indicia.

2. Background of the Invention

Optical reader-scanner systems are achieving widespread applications.The systems operate as data input systems by reading codes imprinted onitems. Such systems are, for example, being used in businesses forinventory control. One well-known major application is in the use of theUPC (Universal Product Code) system in the grocery supermarket businessin conjunction with electronic cash register systems.

The UPC symbol system was developed by the Universal Grocery ProductCode Council, Inc., and is a bar code system which provides for binarycoding of ten product identification decimal digits. The first five ofthese digits generally identify the product of the item, and the lastfive identify the particular item of the product line. The actual symbolis comprised of about sixty parallel light and dark, i.e., relative highlight reflective and relative low light reflective (or light absorptive)bars, with the contrast in reflectance between the highly reflective andlow reflective and/or absorptive bars necessarily being sufficient toallow an accurate reading of the symbol. Each of the ten digits used toidentify the item is represented by a specific group of these bars andthe actual encoding of the digit is obtained by a variation in thewidths of the bars making up this group.

In some cases, lesser numbers of digits are used and provisions havebeen made for utilizing greater numbers of digits for futurecodification. A complete description of the UPC symbol system may befound in a publication entitled "UPC Symbol Specification" dated May1973 and having been published by Distribution Number Bank, 1725 KStreet, N.W. Washington, D.C.

A reader-scanner system contributes to the efficiency and convenience ofthe operation of automated checkout counters by allowing the UPC symbolsto be red automatically as a package is manually transferred from thecounter across a scan pattern area or window.

In automatic electronic cash register systems the data covering suchthings as pricing, quantity or coupon discounting and the taxable ornon-taxable nature of the item are stored in a memory bank of acontroller console. The controller is programmed so that the address ofthis memory bank location corresponds to digital information encoded inthe UPC symbol printed on the package of the item.

Typically, the scan pattern system uses a very low-powered scanninglaser to provide a coherent beam of monochromatic light. The use of thistype of light source provides the high level signal-to-noise rationecessary for processing that is unavailable from other sources. Thelaser beam is directed to a scanner mechanism which generates a opticalscan pattern at a window in the check-out counter. One example of suchan optical reader-scanner system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,056,710.

The actual identification of the symbol is made by electronicallyanalyzing the signals generated by the laser light beam that isreflected back from the package surface to an optical detector. Theoutput of the detector then goes to electronic circuitry and iscontinuously analyzed for the UPC symbol coded content.

When the high speed movement of the light beam crosses the light anddark bars of a UPC symbol, a specific pulse train waveform is generated.The characteristics of this waveform are established by the width of theindividual light and dark bars and by the speed of the sweep. If theelectronic circuitry determines that the symbol is valid and positiveidentification of the symbol is made, the signal is passed onto thecontroller of the cash register system. This output signal provides theaddress for the memory bank location where the instructions for billingand cash register-receipt recording of that symbol are stored.

If the symbol is not valid, i.e., has been tampered with, altered,damaged, or is simply not readable, the positive identification cannotbe made and a no-reading visual or audio alarm is sounded. This notifiesthe clerk that a visual identification and a manual cash register entrymust be made.

Generally, the UPC symbol is made by printing dark bars on a white,reflective background with marking means such as inks of a black coloror some other dull color. Initially, this necessitated the use of whitelabels having black indicia printed thereon, with said labels beingattached to the wrapping or container of the commercial product. Ofcourse, the use of such a label can be unsightly and detract from theoverall appeal of a packaged product.

If the wrapping or container provided a suitable reflective background,however, the black code indicia could be printed directly on thewrapping or container. But this requires multiple printing stations ifthe trade dress and/or printed designs were not in black. Morespecifically, a printing system is required which includes one or morestations for imprinting the colored trade dress designs and at least oneadditional station for imprinting the coded material in black. Moreover,the black code still detracts from the overall aesthetic quality of thefinished product.

Accordingly, the industry has strived to blend code indicia such as UPCindicia into the trade dress and/or packaging of an item to therebyenhance the aesthetic quality of the packaged product or item, but to aswell avoid the need for additional printing stations For example, onemethod is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,094, which discloses theaddition of certain metallic compounds to colored inks in order toeffect the desired improvements in the infrared absorptioncharacteristics of the ink. Thus, when code indicia are printed withcolored inks on a reflective background, a sufficient contrast inreflectance is obtained so that the code can be successfully read.

An additional problem arises, however, when the package does not providea suitable reflective background of sufficient size on which to printthe symbol. In such instances, the return to using labels imprinted withthe symbol has been necessary, with its aesthetic disadvantages. Aprinting of the code in a negative mode has at times been attemptedwhere the trade dress is of a white reflective color and the backgroundprovided by the item offers little reflectance. By "negative mode" ismeant that the actual printed indicia act as the reflective backgroundof the UPC code symbol and the spaces or voids between the printedindicia, which show the absorptive background, are the non-reflective orabsorptive portion of the UPC symbol. Unfortunately, ones trade dresscolor is not always reflective in the appropriate wavelength region. Inparticular, the aforediscussed technique cannot be used when the tradedress color is red, a color which is not even read by conventionalscanning systems as the scanning laser, e.g., as used in UPC processingsystems, are blind to the color red.

Thus, whenever red is the trade dress color, a label has generally hadto be used with the trade dress being one color and the indicia of thesymbol imprinted in another color. Or, it has been attempted to use adouble printing system where the red color is printed or imposed ofwhite so that suitable background reflectance can be achieved, withblack code indicia then being imprinted thereon. All of these methods,however, suffer from the expense of having to use multiple printingstations and steps and/or the loss of aesthetic quality by employing adifferent color. To overcome these problems and disadvantages is adesideratum of the code symbol art. However, no truly practical solutionto using red in a symbol to be processed by code indicia scanningapparatus, despite the constant search therefor, has yet been found.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide amarking composition which is of a reddish color and which can be used ina code symbol to be processed by a visible or infrared code indiciascanning system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method inwhich a UPC symbol having reddish indicia can be successfully employedon a non-reflective substrate. The provision of a substrate having thesaid UPC code symbol imprinted thereon is also an object of the presentinvention.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a methodin which a UPC symbol having reddish indicia can be successfullyemployed on a transparent container, especially when the container isfilled with a fruit juice such as orange juice or grapefruit juice. Theprovision of such a container having said UPC symbol imprinted thereonis also an object of the present invention.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method forthe successful employment of code symbols comprising red printed indiciawithout the need for multiple printing steps.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide amarking composition having suitable reflectance in the visible andinfrared region of from 600 to about 1000 nm to be appropriate for useas the reflective portion of a code symbol, and to thereby beprocessable by a code indicia scanning system, wherein the coloredpigment of the composition is generally unsuitable for such a purposealone due to its "insufficient reflectance", i.e., its inability toreflect in the range of from about 600 to about 1000 nm and/or beprocessed by the code indicia scanning system. The provision of methodsfor using said composition successfully in imprinting code indicia,without multiple printing steps, and the provision of a substrateimprinted with said code indicia are also objects of the presentinvention.

These and other objects, as well as the scope, nature and utilization ofthe invention, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing description and the appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Provided in one embodiment of the present invention is a colored markingcomposition containing a colored pigment which by itself exhibitsinsufficient reflectance in the visible and infrared region of fromabout 600 to about 1000 nm to make the composition suitable for use asthe reflective portion of a code symbol to be processed by a codeindicia scanning system, said composition comprising said coloredpigment, which exhibits insufficient reflectance in the visible andinfrared region of from about 600 to about 1000 nm, and a white pigmentwhich reflects in said visible and infrared region, with said pigmentsbeing present in amounts sufficient to provide said composition with areflectance in said visible and infrared regions suitable for processingby code indicia scanning apparatus when the composition is used toimprint indicia on a relatively low reflective substrate in a negativemode, the voids between the indicia comprising the low reflectiveportion of the symbol, to thereby provide a code symbol processable bycode indicia scanning apparatus. The invention finds particularapplicability when the colored pigment is a red pigment and the markingcomposition is of a red color and is to be used for a UPC symbol.

The present invention also relates to a substrate having a symbolthereon which is processable by code indicia scanning means wherein

(i) the substrate exhibits a relatively low reflectance in the range offrom about 600 to about 1000 nm,

(ii) the indicia imprinted on the substrate are in a negative mode sothat the imprinted indicia comprise the reflective background of thesymbol and the voids between the printed indicia comprise the lowreflective portion of the symbol,

and wherein the indicia are printed with a marking compositioncomprising a colored pigment, preferably a red pigment whichsubstantially does not reflect in the range of from about 600 to about1000 nm, and a white pigment which reflects in said range of from 600 to1000 nm, with said pigments being present in amounts sufficient toprovide a reflectance relative to the low reflectance substrate suitablefor processing by a code indicia scanning system, preferably a scanningsystem used in conjunction with UPC symbols.

The present invention in a preferred embodiment relates to a transparentcontainer having a Universal Product Code symbol thereon wherein thecontainer is filled with a commodity of relatively low reflectance inthe visible region, i.e., around 620 to about 650 nm, where the printedindicia of the symbol comprise the reflective portion of the symbol andthe voids between the printed indicia comprise the low reflectiveportion of the symbol, and where the indicia are printed with a markingcomposition comprising a white pigment which reflects in the visibleregion from about 620 to about 650 nm and a red pigment, wherein saidpigments are present in amounts sufficient to provide a reflectancerelative to the low reflective portion of the symbol suitable forprocessing by a Universal Product Code scanning apparatus.

In another embodiment, the present invention relates to a process formarking a substrate exhibiting low reflectance with a symbol suitablefor use with code indicia scanning apparatus, i.e., such as thatemployed in the processing of UPC symbols, comprising imprinting indiciaon said substrate in the negative mode with a marking compositioncomprising a colored pigment, preferably red, and a white pigment whichreflects in the range of from about 600 to 1000 nm, with said pigmentsbeing present in amounts sufficient to provide contrast in reflectancein said range with regard to the substrate suitable for processing by acode indicia scanning apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The marking composition of the present invention comprises a coloredpigment which generally exhibits low reflectance, if any, ornon-processable reflectance in the operative wavelength range of a codeindicia scanning system. The code indicia scanning systems presentlyemployed generally operate in the visible and infrared regions of fromabout 600 to about 1000 nm. Universal Product Code systems generallyoperate in the range of from about 620 to 650 nm, with the majority ofsystems operating in the range of from about 630 to 640 nm, e.g., about633 nm. Accordingly, the present invention pertains preferably tocolored pigments which exhibit insufficient reflectance in the visibleand infrared region of from about 600 to about 1000 nm, i.e., coloredpigments which fail to reflect substantially in the range of from about600 to about 1000, nm and most preferably in the range of from about 620to 650 nm, or pigments whose reflectance is unable to be read by thecode indicia scanning system, e.g., a red pigment, to which the systemsare blind.

The composition further comprises a white pigment which reflects in thevisible and infrared regions of from about 600 to about 1000 nm, withthe colored and white pigments being present in amounts sufficient toprovide a suitable reflectance in the range of from 600 to 1000 nm,relative to a substrate which exhibits little if any reflectance in saidrange, for processing by code indicia scanning apparatus.

In all code indicia scanning or sensing systems, such as those employedto process UPC bar symbols, a fundamental requirement is that there beadequate contrast between the relatively high reflective portion of thesymbol and the relatively low reflective portion of the symbol or code.The optimum condition exists, of course, when there is maximumprocessable reflectance from the high reflective portion of the codesymbol and minimum reflectance from the low reflective portion of thecode symbol. This contrast between the relative high and low reflectivebars of the code symbol is expressed as the Print Contrast Signal (PCS),which is defined by the relationship: ##EQU1## where R_(L) is thereflectance factor or percentage of light reflected by the highlyreflective portion of the code symbol and R_(D) is the reflectancefactor or percentage of light reflected by the relatively low reflectiveportion of the code symbol. In a UPC system, depending upon the percentlight reflectance of the "dark" bars or low reflectance portion of thecode symbol, the "light" background or reflective portion of the codesymbol must generally meet, or at least approach, an establishedspecification of light reflectance, and thereby a minimum PCS value, toinsure adequate code readability. These guidelines have been establishedby and are available from Distribution Codes, Inc., the administrator ofthe Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol. For example, even if the lowreflective portion of the code symbol exhibited a percent reflectance(R_(D)) of no more than 2.5, the UPC guidelines set by DistributionCodes, Inc. requires a minimum PCS of 0.921, i.e., a minimum percentlight reflectance by the reflective portions of the code symbol (R_(L))of 31.6 percent, in order to assure that suitable processing by the codeindicia scanning apparatus is to occur. Thus, every code indiciascanning system requires at least some minimum reflectance from thereflective portion of a code symbol in order for suitable processing tooccur, even if the non-reflective portion exhibits minimal if anyprocessable reflectance. It is at least this reflectance, as a minimalvalue which must be exhibited in order to obtain successful processingwhen contrasted with a low reflective portion of even the most minimalreflectance in the visible or infrared region, which is referred to whenit is said that "a reflectance in the visible or infrared region whichwould be suitable for processing code indicia infrared scanningapparatus" is provided.

It is preferred that the composition exhibit a reflectance in thevisible range, particularly in the range of from about 620 to 650 nm, ofat least about 31.6 percent, which would make the composition suitablefor the reflective portion of a code symbol in contrast with a lowreflective portion exhibiting a reflectance of about 2.5 percent orless, in accordance with the set UPC guidelines. It is most preferred,however, that the marking compositions of the present invention exhibita reflectance of at least about 42 percent in the range of from about600 to 1000 nm, and in particular in the wavelength range of from about620 to about 650 nm, so that it can successfully be used with lowreflective surfaces providing a background which exhibits a reflectanceof only up to about 5 percent, particularly, by imprinting indicia in anegative mode, on such low reflective surfaces with the voids betweenthe indicia comprising the low reflective portion of the symbol. The UPCguidelines for Print Control Signal are thereby met.

The relative amounts of colored and white pigments employed in thecompositions of the invention will depend upon the actual reflectancerequired, as well as the shade of color desired and the particularpigments employed. The actual reflectance needed to be exhibited by themarking composition whn used for marking the reflective portion of acode symbol will vary according to the actual reflectance of therelative low reflective portion of the symbol, with the greater thereflectance of said low reflective portion, the greater reflectanceneeded to be exhibited by the marking composition. As well, differentpigments will absorb or reflect within the visible and infrared regionsmore or less than others, with this being true even for pigments of thesame color. One should, however, be able to readily ascertain theparticular mixture of pigments necessary to provide the desired orneeded reflectance for the particular undertaking at hand.

It should be noted that while the guidelines for percent reflectance andPCS, as set by Distribution Codes, Inc., have been done so in order toassure adequate readability, the UPC symbol may also be readable whenthe percent reflectance of the marking composition is somewhat less thanthat stated by the guidelines. For the purposes of the present inventionthe percent reflectance need only be such as to allow for sufficientcontrast so that the symbol can be accurately processed by UPC or othercode indicia scanning apparatus. The guidelines, however, will insurethat the PCS is adequate and should thus be generally followed.

The marking compositions can be formulated simply by mixing, forexample, any two conventional marking compositions, e.g., an ink orpaint, which contain the desired pigments. The respective portions ofthe marking compositions to be mixed, of course, will depend upon therespective amounts of pigments desired in the final composition, whichas mentioned before, will depend on the particular reflectancecharacteristics of the particular pigments and color shade desired. Thecomposition can also be formulated by mixing the pigments in theirdesired proportions with conventional solvents and varnish resins aswell as any other conventional additives such as viscosity enhancingagents, which do not adversely effect the reflectance characteristics ofthe marking composition to the extent it cannot give a sufficientreflectance to be processed by a code indicia scanning system. Otherpigments which do not so detrimentally effect the reflectancecharacteristics of the marking composition may also be present. However,it is important in this respect to generally avoid the incorporation ofblack pigment in the marking composition, the presence of which in evensmall amounts has been found to preclude any processable reflectance bythe composition.

The marking composition of the present invention finds particularapplicability when the colored pigment is red, which thereby provides ared marking composition and a means for employing a red code symbolsuccessfully. The following examples are given as specific illustrationsof such red marking compositions formulated in accordance with thepresent invention. It should be understood, however, that the specificdetails set forth in the examples are merely illustrative and in nowiselimitative. All parts and percentages in the examples and the remainderof the specification are by weight unless otherwise specified.

EXAMPLE I

The following formulation provides a most preferred red UPC scannablemarking composition which can be successfully employed for marking codeindicia in the negative mode on low reflective substrates. The variousconventional pigments, solvents, varnishes and additive ingredients usedin the marking composition formulation are as follows:

Kolor-Cure GA 76 Base

Kolor-Cure White Pigment Concentrate, Opaque

Kolor-Cure Red Pigment Concentrate, Opaque

Sensitizer No. 1

all obtainable from T and C Graphic Supplies, Inc. of Elk Grove Village,Ill.;

Ultra-Cure I-100 (CTX) manufactured by Sherwin Williams Co.; andCab-O-Sil M5 of the Cabot Corporation.

40 lb. of the GA-76 base are mixed with 17.9 percent by weight of theGA-76 base of the white pigment and 17.9 percent by weight of the GA-76base of the red pigment.

About 5 lbs each of the Sensitizer No. 1 and Ultra-Cure I-100 are mixedand then ball milled for 2 hours at 30 rpm with 12 stainless steel ballsof 2 inches in diameter. This formulation is then added to the pigmentformulation in the amount of one percent by weight of said formulatedpigment compound, with the resultant mixture then being ball milled forabout one hour at 30 rpm with 12 stainless steel balls of 2 inches indiameter.

The color of resulting marking composition is red, corresponding to PMSNo. 200C. The viscosity of the composition is about 20,000 cps±200 cpsat 75° F.

If the viscosity of the marking composition is not sufficient for theintended purpose or if a more viscous formulation is desired, theviscosity of the composition can be readily increased by adding smallamounts of the Cab-O-Sil or some other suitable material to theformulation. The Cab-O-Sil can be added to the formulation and then theentire mixture mixed for 5 minutes with a motorized paint stirrer orball mill. The viscosity can be checked by conventional means, e.g., aBrookfield Viscometer using a No. 7 spindle.

EXAMPLE II

An epoxy ink suitable as a red UPC scannable marking composition wasprepared as follows:

50 percent Pantone white pigment, 12.5 percent Pantone Rubine Redpigment and 37.5 percent Pantone Warm Red pigment were mixed to providea marking composition having a Brookfield viscosity of 20,000 c.p.s.±200at 85° F. The color of the composition corresponded to Pantone MatchingSystem No. 193C.

It has also been found that a suitable red marking composition can beformulated by mixing the following:

40% by weight red pigment such as that available from Dynachem Corp.;and

60% by weight GA-76 opaque white ink such as that available fromDynachem Corp.

Upon mixing the above ingredients, a suitable red marking compositionshowing good reflectance in the red visible and infrared region isobtained. The composition should have a viscosity of about 21,850 cps asmeasured with a Brookfield Viscometer Model R.E.F. with a #6 spindle anda factor of 500 at 20 R.P.M. with a temperature of 28.5 centigrade.

The marking compositions of the present invention, e.g., such as thatexemplified above, find particular applicability in the imprinting ofcode symbol indicia to be processed by code indicia scanning systemsoperating in the range of from about 600 to about 1000 nm on a substratewhich exhibits a low reflectance in the range of from 600 to 1000 nmupon impinging light radiation against the substrate. The indicia aresimply imprinted directly on the substrate with the marking composition,even though the color is red, which saves the expense and activity ofmultiple printing steps. Upon imprinting the indicia, however, due tothe reflectivity of the marking composition, the indicia are imprintedon the substrate in a negative mode so that the imprinted indiciacomprise the reflective portion of the symbol and the voids between theprinted indicia, which expose the substrate as background, comprise thelow reflective portion of the symbol.

It should also be noted that if desired, the marking composition of thepresent invention can also be used to provide a solid area or spacewhich can act as the reflective background of the symbol, withnon-reflective or low reflective indicia then being imprinted thereon.This application may not, however, provide the advantages of avoidingmultiple printing steps and/or the use of a color which is not a tradedress color.

The type of substrate which is generally suitable for the purposes ofthe instant invention is generally any substrate which provides asurface exhibiting a low reflectivity in the visible and infraredregions, and in particular from about 600 to about 1000 nm, e.g., from620 to about 650 nm. By low reflectivity is meant that the exhibitedreflectivity upon the impingement of light radiation on the backgroundprovided by the substrate is substantily lower than the reflectivityexhibited by the marking composition of the present invention to be usedfor imprinting the indicia thereon. The reflectivity exhibited by thebackground provided by the substrate is preferably low enough that thePCS guidelines for UPC symbols are met, but actually need be only lowenough so that a sufficient contrast exists between the substratebackground and imprinted indicia to assure adequate bar code readabiltyby a code indicia infrared scanning system, and preferably a UPCscanning system.

Examples of suitable substrates include, but are not limited to, thesurface of a cardboard container, or a container or base substratehaving a coating, e.g., a coating of paint, which exhibits lowreflectivity in the appropriate visible or infrared region. Thesubstrate could be the surface of an opaque container which provideslittle or no reflectance. The substrate could also be of a transparentnature with a backing or background which exhibits low reflectivity. Forexample, the substrate can include the surface of a transparent, e g.,glass, container which is filled with a substance or commodity whichexhibits little if any reflectance, e g., up to about 5 percent, in therange of from 600to about 1000 nm, and in particular, in the wavelengthrange of from about 620 to about 650 nm.

Indeed, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, transparentcontainers are provided with a colored code symbol without the need forusing multiple printing steps or stations and without having to use anyother color than the trade dress color. This applies particularly to theuse of a red code symbol.

The transparent containers of concern are those which are filled with acommodity, solid or liquid, that results in little if any reflectance inthe range from 600 to 1000 nm upon impinging radiation on the filled,transparent container. The transparent container is preferably made ofglass and is preferably filled with a liquid commodity, for example,orange juice and grapefruit juice. Apple juice and fruit flavoreddrinks, as well as reconstituted juice, also provide a low reflectivebackground. For example, apple juice only exhibits about a 2 to 7percent reflectance, while fruit drinks exhibit a reflectance from 1 toabout 7 percent. Reconstituted juice exhibits a reflectance of about 5percent, while the orange and grapefruit juice exhibit a reflectance inthe range of from about 2 to 7 percent.

For containers to be filled with such commodities, and in particular theaforedescribed juices and fruit drinks a processable code symbol in thetrade dress color desired especially red, e.g., corresponding to PMS200C, can be easily imprinted thereon by employing the markingcomposition of the present invention. Since the juices do exhibit areflectance up to about 5 percent, the marking composition employed needonly exhibit a reflectance of about 42 percent or greater in the rangefrom 600 to about 1000 nm, and in particular in the region of from about620 to about 650 nm, to meet the guidelines set for UPC symbols byDistribution Codes, Inc., to thereby sure processability of the codesymbol. Once the desired marking composition has been formulated, suchas that described in the aforedescribed Example having a colorcorresponding to PMS 200C, the indicia are simply imprinted with themarking composition on the container in the negative mode. In thismanner, due to the reflectivity of the red marking composition, theprinted indicia can comprise the reflective portion of the code symboland the voids appearing between the bars of the symbol will actuallycomprise the non-reflective or relatively low reflective portion of thecode symbol.

For example, a glass container to be filled with orange juice orgrapefruit juice, and which is imprinted with trade dress in a redcolor, can be imprinted with a UPC symbol comprising only red printedindicia which substantially match the trade dress color via the presentinvention. By employing the marking composition, for example, that wasformulated in the aforedescribed Example of a red color corresponding toPMS 200C, the indicia can be printed in a single printing step on theglass container, but in the negative mode. The end result is a producthaving its UPC symbol blend into the trade dress by being in the samecolor as used for the trade dress. The unsightliness of a label, whichdetracts from the overall appeal and attractiveness of an item, as wellas the expense of multiple printing steps and stations, are avoided.

Thus, the present invention provides one with a means for successfullyemploying colors such as red in code symbols to be processed by codeindicia scanning systems where the background provided by the itemexhibits a relative low reflectance in the range from about 600 to about1000 nm. In practicing the present invention, one realizes theadvantages of avoiding the expense of having to use multiple printingsteps and/or printing stations while enhancing or maintaining theaesthetic quality of the item. It should be noted that while the presentinvention finds particular applicability in the area of UPC symbols, itcan also be applied to any code system to be processed by a code indiciascanning system, such as the EAN (European Article Numbers) system.

Although the invention has been desribed with preferred embodiments, itis to be understood that variations and modifications may be resorted toas will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such variations andmodifications are to be considered within the purview and the scope ofthe claims appended hereto.

What is claimed:
 1. A colored marking composition containing a coloredpigment which by itself exhibits insufficient processable reflectance inthe visible and infrared region of from about 600 to about 1000 nm tomake the composition suitable for use as the reflective portion of acode symbol to be processed by a code indicia scanning system, saidcomposition comprising said colored pigment, which substantially doesnot reflect in the range of from about 600 to 1000 nm, and a whitepigment which reflects in said visible and infrared region, with saidpigments being present in amounts sufficient to provide said compositionwith a reflectance in said visible and infrared region suitable forprocessing by code indicia scanning apparatus when used to imprintindicia on a relatively low reflective substrate in a negative mode, thevoids between the indicia comprising the low reflective portion of thesymbol, to thereby provide a code symbol processable by code indiciascanning apparatus.
 2. The marking composition of claim 1 wherein saidcomposition is a Universal Product Code scannable marking compositioncomprising a colored pigment which does not substantially reflect in thewavelength region of from about 620 to about 650 nm and a white pigmentwhich reflects in the visible and infrared region of from about 620 toabout 650 nm, with said pigments being present in amounts sufficient toprovide a relative reflectance in the range of from about 620 to about650 nm suitable for processing by a Universal Product Code scanningsystem.
 3. The marking composition of claim 2 wherein the coloredpigment is a red pigment which substantially does not reflect in thevisible region of from about 620 to about 650 nm and the composition isof a red color.
 4. The marking composition of claim 3 wherein theresulting color of the composition essentially corresponds to the toneof Pantone Matching System No. 200C.
 5. The marking composition of claim3 wherein the composition has a percent reflectance in the visibleregion of from about 620 to about 650 nm of at least about 31.6 percent.6. The marking composition of claim 3 which has a percent reflectance inthe visible region of from about 630 to 640 nm of at least about 42%. 7.The marking composition of claim 3 wherein the composition comprisesabout equal portions by weight of red and white pigments.